Saturday, July 13, 2013

Personal Kanban - Keeping it Simple!

You'll never believe what I'm doing. . . I'm working on time organization - again!

I know. . .shocking, huh?

I tend to go in spurts, and the cycle goes like this:

Get schedule & tasks organized.

Follow it, get things moving smoothly, get lots done.

Get burned out or tired of the system, or dissastisfied with how it's working.

Wing it for awhile (FREEDOM!!)

Become overwhelmed. (PRISON...)

Start over!

And on and on it goes. Anyone else in this boat?

The important part I suppose is to keep getting back on the bandwagon whenever I fall off. Staying on top of tasks and schedules is so critical for the way my brain functions. But I also think that "time off" is very important for a jumbled mind. I would love to be perfectly organized and on schedule all the time, but it's not realistic for me. I try to do too much, and then I get too perfectionistic, and then it all fails because it's too restrictive for my personality.

So the cycle-method actually seems to work pretty well for me. The key is to not spend quite so much time in the "winging it" stage. Of course, immediately my mind begins to think up ways to schedule in "winging it" time so that I can have the best of both worlds. Then I have to stop and realize how ridiculous that thought is!

Right now I'm back to using www.kanbanflow.com for my time organization. I was using www.toodledo.com, and I still have a lot of tasks in there, but it is so detailed that I always seem to get stuck in the quagmire. I spend so much time organizing tasks, setting up repeating things, etc, that I don't seem to get anything done. But the Kanban idea is great because it's so visual, and I'm a visual person. I love how simple it is.

I have actually used systems like this for years, but they weren't called such. Index cards, sticky notes, anything to move one task to another "folder" or "column" works pretty well for me. The problem with the physical systems is that they are hard to take along when you aren't at home. So the electronic version of Kanban at www.kanbanflow.com seems like it is the right thing for me - at least right now.

I was doing a little reading to motivate myself to get on top of things today in preparation for a week-long familiy history training next week, and I came across this little slideshow from the person who popularized the Kanban idea for personal use. I thought it might be fun to share.

Disclaimer:

This blog contains the unique thoughts of the author and does not represent the views, official or otherwise, of any group, club, religion, or family of which she is a member. All thoughts, suggestions, and techniques are for entertainment and experimentation only, and blog readers acknowledge by their participation that they are aware of all risks, inherent or otherwise, they are getting themselves into by following said techniques. In other words, the author is not liable for any disasters that result from implementation of the ideas herein. However, she will be happy to join in your celebration when you find success on your own journey of finding joy in a fascinating world of distractions! Please share your stories with our readers so we can all learn and grow together in our world of Jumbled Sunshine. :) ~Erika~